Thorpe says TV documentary was like Soviet show trial

Jeremy Thorpe, the former Liberal Party leader, claimed last night that a television documentary about his 1979 trial treated him like a victim of an East European show trial.

He said he had been subjected to "trial by television" in last night's ITV1 documentary, which included an interview with Norman Scott, who claimed Mr Thorpe had coerced him into having sex while under the influence of prescription drugs.

The hour-long programme, When Jeremy Thorpe met Norman Scott, charted the events leading up to the Old Bailey trial at which Mr Thorpe was accused of conspiracy to murder. An Old Bailey jury cleared Mr Thorpe of hiring a hitman to kill Mr Scott, a male model, to cover up an alleged affair between the two.

Mr Thorpe has always denied the affair, but the scandal ruined his political career.

In a statement Mr Thorpe said: "The format of this programme is like a trial by television. It is reminiscent of an East European show trial of the Thirties and Forties. First find the victim and decide what charges should be brought against him or her; next, witnesses will bear out the prosecution's case with no cross-examination by the defence, if indeed the defence is represented."

Mr Thorpe argued that Mr Scott was an unreliable witness. He said Mr Scott had admitted making fictitious claims under cross-examination at the trial . "This is the witness on whom the programme relies as the justification for recycling the story," he said.

"Scott repeats his allegation of a physical relationship with me. This I have always strenuously denied."

Mr Thorpe added in his lengthy statement: "I am sometimes asked why I chose not to give evidence [at the trial]. The prosecution's case had largely been based on [Peter] Bessell and Scott's allegations. They had destroyed their credibility and confessed to having fantasies.

"I was acquitted, the significance of which does not seem to be recognised by Yorkshire Television and the network."

Earlier this week several of Mr Thorpe's friends, including the former Labour leader Michael Foot and the broadcaster Peter Jay, said they believed the documentary was unfair, and argued it was time to leave Mr Thorpe, now 73 and suffering from Parkinson's disease, to live in peace with his wife in Devon.

ITV defended the programme, saying it was a serious analysis of the case and an important chapter of recent political history, featuring interviews with many key characters. Mr Thorpe refused the offer of an interview for the programme.